Queen's racing advisor, Sir Michael Oswald, dies on day of Philip's funeral

The Queen has been dealt another blow, after her close friend passed away on the same day as Prince Philip’s funeral.

Sir Michael Oswald, the Queen’s former racing advisor, passed away at the age of 86 on Saturday.

The Times in the UK reports that Sir Oswald has been battling with a long illness.

His sad death came on the same day that the Queen lay her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, to rest at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Sir Oswald served as the manager of the Royal Studs for 28 years and acted as racing manager for the Queen Mother. Upon her death, he became jumps advisor to the Queen.

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He was often spotted at racing events with the Queen and Prince Philip in the royal box.

So Oswald’s widow, Lady Angela, who was the Queen’s lady-in-waiting for many years, paid tribute to her husband in the Racing Post.

"He always said he had the most wonderful job anybody could ever have had and that for all his working life he was simply doing what he would have done had he been a rich man who didn't have to work,” she said.

The Queen's racing adviser John Warren told the publication he was “very close to the Queen and Queen Mother and loved his role with their horses.”

“He would go absolutely anywhere to watch them run, even in the last few years when he was in his eighties.”

His death comes after the Queen cut a lonely figure at Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday, sitting alone in St. George's Chapel due to coronavirus restrictions.

It was also revealed that she is preparing to celebrate her 95th birthday on Wednesday privately, as official gun salutes in London to mark the occasion are cancelled.

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